Here's a story about an idiot owner, a mistreated Rotti and the poor police who had no choice but to protect themselves....sigh....

Friday, May 13, 2005

In one dangerous night, the lives of three St. Thomas police officers were threatened in two brutal attacks this week.
An otherwise humdrum Wednesday night first turned violent about 8 p.m. when a man in a Ross Street rooming house sicced his Rottweiler on two officers investigating a report of simple mischief.

Three hours later, a driver tried to run over another officer at a downtown RIDE stop.

"It's stressful for the officers to think, 'Oh my God, is somebody going to get killed here?' " Const. Glenn Hodgson said yesterday. "It (was) one of those unusual nights."

The officers were called to the rooming house because four men were said to be urinating off a balcony and throwing bottles. One of the men -- who police said they've dealt with before -- ordered his Rottweiler to attack the officers in the house's common room.

"He's snapping and growling -- you know what a Rottweiler is like," Hodgson said. "It just shows you how stupid the owner is."

After the dog was pepper sprayed, it and the owner retreated behind a locked door.

Rather than chase them inside, the officers were set to return yesterday to charge the man with assault with a weapon -- the Rottweiler being the weapon, Hodgson said.

About three hours later, a driver stormed through a RIDE checkpoint at Talbot and Balaclava streets, aiming his car at an officer, who had to dive out of the way, police said. Because of safety concerns, police said they didn't chase after the driver.

The car was later found crashed at the end of a cul-de-sac. No one was hurt, but the incident has given police pause.

"We do quite a few (RIDE checks) down here. If (officers aren't) paying attention, some guy could run them over," Hodgson said, adding police don't consider the incident an accident.

"It was intentional," he said. "They try to flag him down and he drives right toward (them)."

Joshua Twohey, 30, of London, is charged with impaired driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and drug possession. A 22-year-old man in the car is also charged with drug possession.

The officers involved in the Rottweiler attack did the right thing by leaving the house rather than continuing with the arrest, Hodgson said.

"A smart man is going to say, 'Hey, the Rottweiler now is in the room with this guy,' " he said. "They should be commended that they didn't charge after the guy.

"A dog like that, you could end up getting seriously hurt."

twodogsandacat

May 14th, 2005, 03:37 PM

Charge the punk to hell and back. using a dog as a weapon is one of the reasons pits have such a bad name - and of course Rottis as these punks move to Rottis once pits are banned. Actually siccing a dog on a cop should get the owner shot not the dog.

Kudos to the cop for holding back. Let's hope the judge has as much brains as the cops and sends a message to any other punk doing the same thing. It's as bad as firing a gun at a cop and should be seen as the same.